The Effect Of Donative Networks On Development Of Social Organizations And Its Mechanism

In the background of “Common Prosperity” and “Third Distribution” in China,the enthusiasm for charitable donations is constantly rising,and the resource mobilization capacity of social organizations has also been continuously improved.Social organizations absorb resources from various donors including individuals,enterprises,and foundations,and these different donors have jointly formed unique donative networks.Therefore,in this dissertation,we ask the research questions: how do donative networks affect the development of social organizations,and what is the mechanism?To answer the research questions,we first reviewed the existing literature related to donative networks and the development of social organizations.We found that current research on the development of social organizations paid more attention to the institutional environment at the macro level,as well as the resources environment and capabilities of social organizations,while ignoring the influence of various donors and the donative networks on the development of social organizations.For the research of donative networks,current discussions were mostly attached to the income sources of social originations,and they paid more attention to government funding and revenues from market activities,while there was a lack of systematic analysis of how social donations affect the development of social organizations.Moreover,most studies treated social donations as a monolithic whole,while there were few differentiated explorations on how different donors and donative networks influence the development of social organizations.Thus,we are committed to analyzing the effect of donative networks formed by various donors on the development of social organizations,and try to summarize its mechanism.Based on new institutionalism and resource dependence theory,social network and social capital theory,and organization development theory,we put forward an analytical framework of donative networks and the development of social organizations in this dissertation.We argue that donative networks have a positive effect on the development of social organizations,and resource linkage,collaboration,and supervision from various donors of donative networks can promote the development of social organizations in dimensions of resources,management,and services.We first aim to answer the question about the specific impact of donative networks on the development of social organizations.Based on the unbalanced panel data of2,548 foundations in China from the year 2010 to 2018,the results of fixed-effect regression analysis show that donative networks have multiple positive impacts on the development of social organizations.In the dimension of resources of social organizations,we find that with a larger scale of donative networks,social organizations can acquire more financial resources.And with a higher degree of network heterogeneity of donative networks,social organizations can absorb more financial resources and human resources.In the dimension of management of social organizations,we find that with a larger scale and a higher degree of network heterogeneity of donative networks,the management efficiency and standardization of social organizations are generally higher.In the dimension of service of social organizations,we find that with a larger scale and a higher degree of network heterogeneity of donative networks,social organizations will invest more in public service expenditures and carry out more service projects.We then answer the question about the mechanism of donative networks affecting the development of social organizations.Based on the investigation and interview data of 33 foundations in various provinces and cities across China.We summarize four main mechanisms that donative networks affect the development of social organizations in resources,management,and service: resource linkage mechanism,cooperative costrength mechanism,knowledge-sharing mechanism,and supervision and restriction mechanism.Under the function of resource linkage mechanism,the heterogeneous donors of donative networks help social organizations to link multiple resources,to promote social organizations to obtain more financial resources.In addition,the donors are also potential human resources for social organizations through “participatory donation”.And refined management of heterogeneous donors promotes social organizations to absorb more professional human resources.Under the function of cooperative co-strength mechanism,the heterogeneous donors of donative networks cooperate with social organizations in multiple ways,they realize common goals by complementing each other's advantages and providing corresponding resources for social organizations,thus multi-cooperation ability of social organizations,as well as management and service of themselves will be improved.Under the function of the knowledge-sharing mechanism,the heterogeneous donors of donative networks deliver management experience for social organizations through knowledge-sharing and provide possible technical support.Which encourages the continuous innovation of social organizations,and stimulates the improvement of the management ability and service quality of social organizations.Under the supervision and restriction mechanism,the supervision and accountability from the heterogeneous donors of donative networks,and restricted requirements in public service provision,facilitate continuous improvement of self-management and standardization of social organizations.And they will invest more in public service expenditure and conduct more service projects,thereby establishing a good image of themselves.This dissertation makes contributions in two ways: on the one hand,we reveal the effect of donative networks on the development of social organizations and its mechanism,that is,through resource linkage,cooperation and co-strength,knowledge sharing,and supervision and restriction,donative networks promote social organizations to absorb more resources,improve self-management,and enhance public service delivery.On the other hand,this dissertation not only broadens our understanding of the relationship between various donors,donative networks,and the development of social organizations,but also forms an important supplement to the relevant research on the development of social organizations from the perspective of a social network.And it also provides important enlightenment for the joint promotion of the development of social organizations by multiple donors in the new era of common prosperity.